JBLM soldier gunned down in Burien one month before Iraq deployment

BURIEN, Wash. – One month before being deployed to Iraq, a local Army sergeant was murdered in Burien.

Army Sgt. Timothy Hovey, 27, who was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord , was shot multiple times Sunday morning after a house party.

The King County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have a suspect or vehicle description.  So investigators are still interviewing people who attended the party or lived nearby.

“This is not something you expect to be going on this close to your house,” said neighbor Katherine Nagy.



Nagy awoke to her family calling 911 after hearing at least four gunshots Sunday morning near their home on 128th Street and 21st Avenue South in Burien.

“There had been a house party a couple blocks from where he had been shot and we understand he decided to go for a walk,” said sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West.



Hovey's  friends found him in the neighborhood suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

“His friends pulled up, saw that he was shot and they loaded him up in their car and took him to Highline Hospital,” said West.

Hovey died a few hours later.

“Anytime there’s a shooting, anytime there’s a killing, it’s very scary,” said Nagy.

That’s why investigators are determined to find out who did it.

“It’s a terrible tragedy, we’re really hoping somebody will come forward. Somebody knows what happened,” said West.

The timeline and details are fuzzy from the time Hovey left the house party to his being found on the ground with gunshot wounds.

“Whether it was random, somebody driving by, or if it had something to do with the party he attended. Those are the questions we need to get answered,” said West.

Hovey was a young man dedicated to serving our country with a deployment to Iraq just a month away.

The King County Sheriff’s Office needs help to find Hovey’s killer.  If you have any information, you're urged to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.